A groundbreaking AI project can translate 5,000-year old cuneiform with the push of a single button
Cuneiform, the oldest form of writing known to man, is difficult to decode. Only a handful of experts can read the wedge-shaped symbols on the clay tablets. A team of Israeli archaeologists, computer scientists, and linguists have created a translation program powered by AI for ancient Akkadian cuneiform. This allows tens thousands of tablets that are already digitized to be instantly translated into English.
More than half a billion clay tablets are inscribed with the cuneiform script. The sheer volume of Akkadian texts and the small number of Akkadian speakers — a language that hasn’t been spoken or written in 2,000 years — mean only a fraction of the tablets have been translated.
Google Translate, a new program similar to that of the popular search engine, may enable armchair archaeologists and cuneiform interpreters to practice their skills.
Source:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-ai-project-translates-5000-year-old-cuneiform-at-push-of-a-button/
